Political career

This section primarily features details about the state officer's political career, including previous political offices. The previous offices held should be listed in reverse chronological order from newest to oldest in subsections within the "Political career" section.

Note: controversies

Events while in office:
For controversies that may arise while an officeholder is in office - such as a controversial position taken on an issue, misuse of public funds, a DUI, arrest, etc. - add that notation or news under the office in which they served at that time.

Events while NOT in office:
However, if an event is completely unrelated to their term in office, do not add in "political career." Such events may include, for example, (this is completely made up) a DUI arrest during a two-year hiatus from politics. In other words, they were not holding a public office at the time of the arrest. For such cases, add this in the "biography" section.

When a new section is needed:
If the issue develops and requires further explanation, create a new section on the article below "campaign donors." In this new section make sure to establish the context in which the event occurred. In other words include the year and relevant office. The section name should be brief and describe the situation. For example: "Stance against tax increases" or "Legal woes."

Installation

==Political career==
===Current (or most recent) office title (year-year)===
List most recent political office here and include details about responsibilities.
Additionally, list accomplishments or changes made by the officer during that particular term.
===Next most recent office title (year-year)===
Details here.
===Third most recent office title (year-year)===
Details here.
===Fourth most recent office title (year-year)===
Details here.

Example

Political career

Governor (2000-Present)

Perry assumed the governship in December 2000 when then-Governor George W. Bush resigned to prepare for his inauguration as President of the United States. Gov. Perry was elected to full terms in 2002, 2006, and 2010. Perry is the longest-serving governor in Texas history. Having won re-election in 2010, he is positioned to serve 14 years in the job.[1] This would break the records held by Bill Clements (eight years, over two non-consecutive terms) and Allan Shivers (7.5 years consecutive service).

Lieutenant governor (1999-2000)

In 1998, Perry ran for lieutenant governor to succeed the retiring Democrat Bob Bullock. Perry polled 1,858,837 votes (50.04 percent) to the 1,790,106 (48.19 percent) cast for Democrat John Sharp of Victoria, who relinquished the comptroller's position after two terms to run for lieutenant governor. Libertarian Anthony Garcia polled another 65,150 votes (1.75 percent).

Agriculture commissioner (1991-1999)

In 1990, in a race for commissioner of agriculture new Republican Perry unseated Democrat Jim Hightower. Hightower had worked for Jesse Jackson in the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, while Perry had supported Tennessee Senator Al Gore and was Gore's campaign chairman in Texas in 1988.

As agriculture commissioner, Perry was responsible for promoting the sale of Texas farm produce to other states and foreign nations and supervising the calibration of weights and measures such as gasoline pumps and grocery store scales.

Texas legislature (1982-1990)

Perry has said that his interest in politics probably began in December 1961, when, at the age of 11, his father took him to the funeral of the legendary Sam Rayburn, who during his long public career served as Speaker of the Texas House and the U.S. House. Dignitaries from all over the nation descended on the small town of Bonham, Texas for the official farewell to Rayburn.

In 1982, as his term on the Board of Education ended, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from a district that included his home county of Haskell. He served on the important House Appropriations and Calendars Committees during his three terms as a state legislator, where he was known as one of the "Pit Bulls," a group of Appropriations Members who sat on the lower dais in the committee room (or "pit") who pushed for austere state budgets during the lean 1980s. In 1989, The Dallas Morning News named him one of the most effective legislators in the 71st legislature. In 1989, Perry announced that he was joining the Republican Party.